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October 11, 2006
This is the Party He Used to Run In
Graying, self-absorbed rocker Pat DiNizio plays a concert in his living room for $100-a-head, as per his self-aggrandizing website.
Stantis finally looks two weeks ahead two weeks ago and this is what he comes up with? Pat DiNizio's birthday??
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Listen, I've got nothing against the Smithereens. I listened to WXRT (93.1 Chicago) back in the late 80's. And the Smithereens were certainly a highlight amongst all the Little Feat, Jethro Tull, and Rare Earth Friday Features and Two-Fer Tuesdays. But to call the Smithereens the "best band ever" is a little silly. (That honor, of course, goes to Cheap Trick.)
It's just another example of Stantis using the Surfing-the-Web technique to generate story ideas. How else to explain the Clinton/Wallace-to-Gray-Haired-Baby-Boomers-to-Smithereens? "Oh, look, the blogosphere is going nuts about Clinton!" MOUSE CLICK. "Oh, look, a study has shown baby boomers are getting older. (And playing kickball!)" MOUSE CLICK. "Oh, look, October rock-n-roll birthdays!"
I know name-checking one's favorite artists and influences is a comic-strip tradition. Charles Schultz was a big-time practitioner of this. But when Schroeder would spend a week celebrating Beethoven's birthday, it was a situation that developed out of the CHARACTER'S love for Beethoven. The reader never thought, "Wow. Charles Schultz sure has a hard-on for Beethoven. This strip is nothing more than a vehicle for Schultz to display his personal agenda." Instead, the reader thinks, "Boy, that Schroeder kid sure is a fag." The reader reacts to the character, not the artist.
But do we for a second believe that Winslow is a life-long fan of the all-songs-sound-the-same, mildly-catchy, power-rock stylings of Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Mike Mesaros, and Dennis Diken? No. It's Stantis, top-to-bottom. Winslow is a floppy little lifeless puppet dancing because his creator has a finger up his ass.
Of course, there might be something bigger at work here. A quick google check tells me DiNizio -- a former "Republican Committeeman" -- ran for a U.S. Senate seat (NJ) in 2000 under the Reform Party. You remember the Reform Party, don'tcha? It's Ross Perot's political party that fielded Pat Buchanan in 2000. (In the above-linked article DiNizio distances himself from Buchanan, but, come on, dude.)
So it's not just Stantis putting politics aside and cluing us in to his musical tastes. It's a carefully selected musical taste that passes his rigorous ideological litmus test.
Someone should blow this strip up to...wait for it...SMITHEREENS.
Comments
Nice.
Posted by: The Furnace at October 11, 2006 10:05 AM
Ah, WXRT. The station that plays music you won't hear anywhere else, like the Bodeens, because everyone else has figured out that the Bodeens suck.
Posted by: Annie at October 11, 2006 10:39 AM
It's all obviously a simple matter of convenience, like most of Prickly City. Let's look at the list of performers with the same birthday as DiNizio:
Martie Seidel (Dixie Chicks) - nuff said. Bob Mould - gay. Melvin Franklin (The Temptations) - black. Luciano Pavarotti - could be confused with Michael Moore. Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) - black AND could be confused with Michael Moore.
A much more clear and relevant choice for today's strip would've been Daryl Hall. Ironic how out of touch Stantis is. More tomorrow....
Posted by: Sacki at October 11, 2006 02:08 PM
